See fossilized dinosaur eggs, babies

M.B. Tuccio

Published 3:03 pm, Thursday, February 6, 2014

This life-sized model shows the embryo of an oviraptor dinosaur as it may have looked shortly before hatching. Oviraptors were light, fast-moving carnivores with long claws and toothless beaks. The model, created by paleo-sculptor Dennis Wilson, is based on the anatomy of a fossilized oviraptor embryo discovered by paleontologist Mark Norell of the American Museum of Natural History.
Photo: Contributed Photo

This life-sized model shows the embryo of an oviraptor dinosaur as...

In this scene, set in Mongolia about 80 million years ago, a carnivorous oviraptoran dinosaur feeds its hungry nestlings. Paleontologists working in Mongolia have discovered the fossil remains of eggs and embryos, as well as adult oviraptors sitting atop their nests of eggs. This evidence suggests that oviraptors tended their eggs and perhaps their young as well. Paleontologists do not know for certain if oviraptors had feathers as this artist shows, but other aspects of their anatomy and behavior suggest a kinship with birds.This artwork was inspired by discoveries made by paleontologist Mark Norell of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Photo: Contributed Photo

In this scene, set in Mongolia about 80 million years ago, a...

This model by paleo-sculptor Brian Cooley was commissioned by National Geographic for the cover of the May 1996 issue. It is based on preliminary scientific interpretations of the fossil hatchling ìBaby Louie.î This model depicts the fossil as an embryo of a therizinosaur dinosaur. More recently, paleontologists studying the fossil have discovered that its beak-like lower jaw lacked teeth. This new evidence confirms that ìBaby Louieî represents a new species of giant oviraptor.
Photo: Contributed Photo

It's not uncommon to see dinosaur fossils in museums, but what about dinosaur eggs? Did you know scientists have unearthed fossilized eggs from these ancient creatures?

These eggs are fascinating to look at, and many will be on view in an interactive exhibit called, "Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies," at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven. It opens Saturday, Feb. 8.

Richard Kissel, 39, a paleontologist and director of public programs at the Peabody, has been a dinosaur fan since childhood.

"I was one of those kids who loved dinosaurs; I just never outgrew it," said Kissel, who still remembers a short stack of dinosaur books he had as a child. He flipped through them so many times, he said, he probably memorized them. He wasn't into "The Flintstones" so much though. For him, it was more about the real thing.

"It's very hard to become a fossil," he said. "It's a very rare process."

First a creature must be buried quickly (otherwise it decays or is picked apart by scavengers). Then, if it's in a protected area, minerals in the groundwater percolate through its bones, and the original material in those bones is replaced by the minerals.

"The bone turns to stone; that's why there's different colors, it all depends on the minerals," he said.

"Tiny Titans" offers visitors a glimpse into secrets that have been revealed since 1923, when the first dinosaur eggs were discovered, entombed in the Flaming Cliffs of Mongolia. That 75-million-year-old find was followed by others. Fossilized dinosaur eggs and nests have been recovered from around the world, along with the bones of tiny hatchlings and embryos. Such discoveries help scientists learn how dinosaurs lived their lives.

Another highlight is the extremely rare embryonic skin preserved inside an egg, a scientific first. Fossils of embryos are among the rarest of dinosaur remains, but the fossilization of soft tissue, such as skin, is even more so because it usually decays soon after burial.

A short film tells the story of the discovery of "Baby Louie," one of the first known "articulated" dinosaur embryos, meaning Louie's fossilized bones are intact and lying in the same position as they would have been in life. A cast of Louie's bones and a feathered reconstruction are on display.

"With skin, it's not actually skin that's preserved, but you get impressions of skin," said Kissel. "The original material is replaced with minerals; the original shape and texture is preserved by minerals."

Kissel has done excavation work in Europe and Texas. At one site, he helped recover the skeleton of a 50-foot-long crocodile-type creature.

"The skull alone was 5 feet long," he said. "It was discovered by one of our crew members ... You walk around and look for pieces of bone sticking out of the ground."

He said it was "lots of fun" because piecing fossils together is like working on a puzzle.

"You're trying to reconstruct a picture of what life was like hundreds of millions of years ago. Imagine you were given a week and 10 pieces from a 100-piece puzzle, and not the picture from the box, and you had to determine what the picture was from those 10 pieces."

At the exhibit, there's plenty for visitors to touch and feel, as well as a dig pit for smaller children, more than 150 eggs, and beautiful artwork depicting dinosaur life. Also, live emus will be hatching -- right in the exhibit.

The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, 170 Whitney Ave., New Haven, Feb. 8 to Aug. 30, Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m., $9 adults, $8 seniors, $5 children 3-18 and college students with I.D. Kids under 3 are free, as are all visitors Thursdays, 2 to 5 p.m., through June. 203-432-5050, www.peabody.yale.edu